System and method for removing dead animals

ABSTRACT

A method for transporting dead animals to a disposal site using a conveyor having at least one carrier that operates by placing the dead animals in the carrier, transporting the carrier towards a disposal site by the conveyor, and emptying the carrier at the disposal site.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of raisinganimals and more particularly to methods for removing dead animals fromanimal raining houses such as chicken coops. The present inventionfurther relates to conveyors for use in removing dead animals fromanimal raising houses such as a chicken coop and more particularly tosystem and method for transporting dead animals within an animal houseto a central disposal site.

[0003] 2. Prior Art

[0004] Commercial poultry, such as turkeys, chickens, ducks, and geesehave been a main food source throughout history. For hundreds of years,poultry had been raised and processed on small family farms to belocally sold to buyers. However, as the human population increased, thedemand for poultry has increased. As a result of this increased demandfor poultry, the production of commercially raised poultry has evolvedfrom small family farm operations to large business operations devotedsolely to the production of such animals. These large factory farmscommonly raise several million animals each year. Without such farms,the demand for such animals could not be met. While the technology forprocessing such animals has evolved dramatically, the methods andapparatus for raising animals have remained relatively unchanged. Infact, many factory farms today use the same general methods andapparatus previously used on smaller farms, but on a far larger scale.

[0005] In any animal raising site, animals are going to die during theraising process for any number of reasons. Although the job of removingdead animals from the site may be difficult and is time consuming andphysically strenuous, the removal of dead animals from a site is one ofthe most important activities in maintaining a healthy environment onfactory farms. In fact, dead poultry remaining within the flock in achicken coop for prolonged periods of time can increase the growth ofbacteria such botulism, salmonella and camplylobacter among the batch.While feeding and watering are often automated, a crew of workers oftenaccomplishes the removal of dead poultry manually.

[0006] Human labor usually is required to manually locate and transportthe dead poultry within the coop to a disposal site away from the coop.Typically, human labor walks through the coop, picks up any deadanimals, and carries the dead animals to a central pile, or disposes ofthe dead animals through a door in the coop. Humans can only carry somany dead animals at one time, in terms of both weight andcumbersomeness. Complicating matters further, the distance from the siteof the dead poultry and the disposal site can be substantially farapart, as many modern chicken coops can be hundreds of feet long. Infact, as animal raising houses can be large in square feet, the crew ofworkers often is forced to walk a great distance to dispose of deadanimals. As such, it can take a significant amount of time and energy towalk from the dead animal site to the disposal site.

[0007] Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system and methodfor transporting dead animals within an animal raising facility to adisposal site within the facility or outside of the facility. Such asystem and method should be more efficient and reduce the time it takesto remove the dead animal from a facility and dispose of it at adisposal site. The present invention is directed to this need and otherrelated needs.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Briefly, the present invention is a system and method fortransporting dead animals from an animal raising house or facility, suchas for illustrative purposes a chicken coup, to a disposal site for deadanimals. One embodiment of the present invention is a system comprisinga conveyor movable around a raceway, a plurality of carriers attached toand depending from a chain or belt forming the basis of the conveyor,and a disposal site. The raceway is suspended from the ceiling of theanimal house at a height that both will not interfere with theday-to-day activities of the resident animals and is convenient for thehuman workers to utilize. The raceway can be a continuous circuitlocated approximately halfway between the central point and the outerwalls of the animal raising facility so as to be most accessible to thehuman workers. Alternatively, two or more raceways can be strategicallylocated throughout the animal raising facility so as to provideconvenient access to the human workers.

[0009] The carriers are secured to the conveyor so to form a continuouschain of carriers that are able to circulate around a closed loop of theconveyor. The chain or belt can be a common motorcycle or bicycle chain,a rubber or reinforced rubber belt similar to the fan belt material usedin the automotive industry, Nylon® or other polymer belts (e.g. ultrahigh molecular weight polymers belts), steel or other metal or polymercables or ropes, and the like. The carriers are pivotably or swivellyattached to the chain or belt and generally depend downward from thechain or belt towards the ground or floor of the animal facility. Eachcarrier is capable of holding at least one dead animal and dumping thedead animal over or into the disposal site. After the carrier dumps thedead animal at the disposal site, the carrier can be re-circulatedaround the conveyor for further use.

[0010] The disposal site can be any of a number of structures orfeatures. For example, the disposal site can be a dumpster locatedwithin the animal raising facility, a conveyor originating within theanimal raising facility and terminating outside of or at an opening tothe outside of the animal raising facility, or completely outside of theanimal raising facility if the raceway is designed to exit the animalraising facility for dumping the dead animals. All that is required isthat the disposal site be conveniently or centrally located and be ableto accept the dumping of dead animals.

[0011] Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a methodfor transporting dead animals from an animal raising facility to adisposal site. This embodiment according to the present inventioncomprises placing the dead animal in one of the carriers secured to aconveyor, using the conveyor to transport the carrier with the deadanimal to the disposal site, and allowing the carrier with the deadanimal to empty the dead animal at the disposal site. Preferably, thecarrier then re-circulates around the conveyor once it has emptied thedead animal at the disposal site.

[0012] In operation and use, the system and method serve to transportdead animals from an animal raising facility such as a chicken coup to adisposal site or bin. More particularly, as a worker finds a deadanimal, the worker places the dead animal into one of the circulatingcarriers, which then travels along the conveyor until it reaches thedeposal site. Once at the disposal bin, the carrier is emptied and thedead animal is dumped into the disposal site. After dumping the deadanimal at the disposal site, the carrier circulates along the conveyor.As the user does not need to transport the dead animal to the disposalsite, a user's time and energy is saved.

[0013] These features and other features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in therelevant art when the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments is read in conjunction with the appended drawings in whichlike reference numerals designate like components throughout the severalviews.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1

[0016]FIG. 3A is a perspective side view, partially in section, of theembodiment shown in FIG. 1 illustrating one embodiment of the chain orbelt and one embodiment of the carrier.

[0017]FIG. 3B is a perspective side view, partially in section, of theembodiment shown in FIG. 1 illustrating another embodiment of thecarrier.

[0018]FIG. 4 is a side view, partially in section, of another embodimentof the present invention illustrating another embodiment of the chain orbelt and another embodiment of the carrier.

[0019]FIG. 5 is sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

[0020]FIG. 6 is a side temporal view of the carrier dumping a deadanimal into a first embodiment of a disposal site utilizing a bin ordumpster.

[0021]FIG. 7 is a side temporal view of the carrier dumping a deadanimal into a second embodiment of a disposal site utilizing a bin ordumpster.

[0022]FIG. 8 is a side temporal view of the carrier dumping a deadanimal into a third embodiment of a disposal site utilizing a bin ordumpster.

[0023]FIG. 9 is perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention utilizing a conveyor as the disposal site.

[0024]FIG. 10 is a top view of a dual conveyor embodiment of the presentinvention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0025] Illustrative embodiments of system and method, and apparatusesand devices used to make up the system and carry out the method,according to the present invention are shown in FIGS. 1 through 7.Although system 5 is shown in the figures in connection with a chickencoop as the illustrative animal raising facility 7, it is understoodthat system 5 may be used in connection with any animal raising facility7 and with any type of small commercially raised animal, includingchickens, geese, ducks, turkeys or the like. While the invention isdescribed herein in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it willbe understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments.Further, it is contemplated that the invention can be scaled up or downto handle larger or smaller animals, respectively.

[0026]FIG. 1 is an illustrative perspective view of the system 5. Thesystem 5 comprises conveyor 10 and carriers 20. Conveyor 10 comprises aframe or raceway 12 having a horizontal operating platform and mode.Raceway 12 cooperates with and supports a continuous conveyor chain orbelt 56 either within an internal channel 58 or by other means. Carriers20 are attached to and depending from chain or belt 56. Preferably,there is a plurality of carriers 20 spaced generally evenly along chainor belt 56. Chain or belt 56 is driven by a motor (not shown) aboutraceway 12. As chain or belt 56 is driven around raceway 12, conveyor 10functions as a guide for carriers 20, thus carrying carriers 20 in aloop about animal raising facility 7.

[0027] Workers 60, human or robotic, traverse the animal raisingfacility 7 looking for dead animals 32. Once a dead animal 32 is foundthe dead animal 32 is placed on a carrier 20. Chain or belt 56 is drivenabout raceway 12 preferably at a constant speed slow enough for worker60 to be able to comfortably place dead animal 32 on carrier 20, yetfast enough such that worker 60 does not have to wait a prolonged periodof time for the next carrier 20 to arrive. Alternatively, having amultitude of carriers 20 also can help prevent prolonged waitingperiods. Conveyor 10 then carries dead animal to disposal site 26 wherethe dead animal is removed from carrier 20 and disposed of. Conveyor 10serves to provide a controlled path within the animal raising facility7, serves to constrain the movement of carriers 20 in both the verticaland lateral directions, and also forms a continuous chain of carriers 20that can be circulated around the closed loop of conveyor 10.

[0028] Conveyor 10 sequentially dumps the content of each of carrier 20over or into disposal site 26, which is located strategically within orthroughout animal raising facility 7. More particularly, as carriers 20are capable of carrying dead animal 32, conveyors 10 can sequentiallydump dead animals 32 over or into disposal site 26. Then, preferably,after the content of each of carrier 20 is sequentially dumped over orinto disposal site 26, carriers 20 are re-circulated around conveyor 10and therefore around animal raising facility 7 and can be reused orrefilled with another dead animal 32.

[0029] Conveyor 10 is suspended from the ceiling of animal raisingfacility 7 in much the same way known animal drinking systems aresuspended. More particularly, conveyor 10 is suspended by suspensioncables 62 or other types of tension or suspension devices such as steelwires from the roof support beams or other support devices located abovethe system 5 and/or along the roof of the animal raising facility 7.Alternatively, conveyor 10 can be supported from below using columns,trusses or other such structural support devices (not shown). One usefuloption is to make conveyor height adjustable such that conveyor 10 canbe raised upwards and out of the way when the animal raising facility,for example, is to be cleaned, and can be lowered to the ground or floor19 when the system 5 needs to be maintained or repaired. The conveyor 10preferably is suspended from the ceiling of the animal raising facility7 at a height that both will not interfere with the day-to-dayactivities of the resident animals 30 and is convenient for the workers60 to utilize.

[0030] In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, two different types ofcarrier 20 are shown. One type, shown in more detail in FIG. 3 anddisclosed in more detail below, is a hanger of the crotch carrier 20Astyle. Another type, shown in more detail in FIG. 5 and disclosed inmore detail below, is a bucket carrier 20B. The system 5 can utilizemany different types of carrier 20 and is not limited to these twoillustrative embodiments. Further, the system can utilize a single typeof carrier 20, such as only crotch carrier 20A, or a combination ofdifferent types of carriers 20, such as the alternating combination ofcrotch carriers 20A and bucket carriers 20B shown in FIG. 1.

[0031]FIG. 2 is a top view of conveyor 10 better illustrating conveyor10 as a closed loop structure and conveyor's 10 placement within animalraising facility 7. As shown in FIG. 2, conveyor 10 has a generallyrectangular shape generally corresponding to the shape of animal raisingfacility 7. Alternatively, as shown by ghost lines, conveyor 10′ can bean oval or more rounded structure. The actual shape of conveyor 10 canbe varied depending on a number of factors such as, for example, theshape of the animal raising facility, the materials of construction ofthe raceway 12 and chain or belt 56, and the whim of the owner. FIG. 2also illustrates how carriers 20 can be staggered at generally equaldistances along conveyor 10.

[0032] The physical placement of the system 5 within animal raisingfacility 7 also is shown illustratively in FIG. 2. Preferably, asfacility 7 can be large (e.g. 60 ft by 500 ft) or small (10 ft by 50ft), the system 5 is sized and placed such that the conveyor 10 isapproximately equidistant between the central point 82 and the outerside walls 80 of the animal raising facility 7. As a typical animalraising facility 7 may be significantly longer than it is wide, theconveyor 10 can extend farther towards the end walls 84 thanequidistant. This sizing and placement allows for convenient use in thatthe conveyor 10, and thus the carrier 20, is located a distance of nomore than approximately one-quarter the width of the animal raisingfacility 7 from any dead animal 32. Additionally, the closed loopstructure of conveyor 10 allows system 5 to be designed so to circulateand re-circulate carriers 20 around conveyor 10. Although conveyor 10,10′ is shown with a rectangular and oval shape, respectively, otherembodiments can have other closed loop structures and shapes.

[0033]FIG. 3A-B are side views, partially in section, of one embodimentof the operating portion of the system 5 showing some of the elements inmore detail. Raceway 12 is a generally rigid structure capable of beingsuspended from the ceiling or wall 80, 84 or being supported above thefloor 19 of the animal raising facility 7. In the illustrativeembodiment shown in FIG. 3A-B, raceway 12 has an upper half 12A thatfunctions primarily to provide structural rigidity to raceway 12 and toprovide a means for attaching suspension cables 62. Raceway 12 also hasa lower half 12B for containing and guiding chain or belt 56, asdisclosed in more detail below.

[0034] An illustrative chain or belt 56 is shown in FIG. 3 in whichchain or belt 56 is a common motorcycle or bicycle type of roller chain56. Chain 56 is formed as an endless loop within lower half 12B ofraceway 12. Depending downward toward the ground 19 from chain 56 areattachment connectors 22 onto which carriers 20 are attached. In theexample embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, the cooperation between connector22 and carrier 20 allows carrier 20 to swing somewhat from side to side(perpendicular to the direction of motion of chain 56) and to swingsignificantly about 180 degrees or slightly more from forward tobackward (parallel to the direction of motion of chain 56). The side toside motion allows the worker 60 to more easily load the carrier 20 withthe dead animal 32 without harm to the worker 60 or the carrier 20. Theforward to backward motion allows the carrier 20 to dump the dead animal32 in the disposal site 26, as disclosed in more detail below.

[0035] In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 3B, the carrier 20 isconnected to the connector 22 such that the carrier 20 cannot swing fromside to side (perpendicular to the direction of motion of chain 56) orforward to backwards (parallel to the direction of motion of chain 56).The worker 60 can load the carrier 20 with the dead animal 32 withoutharm to the worker 60 or the carrier 20 by placing the dead animal 32 onthe carrier 20 as described herein. Once the carrier 20 with the deadanimal 32 passes over disposal site 26, the dead animal 32 is dumped atthe disposal site 32.

[0036] Illustrative embodiments of carrier 20 are shown in FIG. 3A-B inwhich carriers 20 are animal hangers. Such animal hangers are known inthe art and comprise a receiving means for holding at least one deadanimal 32. For example, in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3A-B, thereceiving means of carriers 20 is a shaped structure consisting of agenerally vertical down piece 92 for suspending the carrier 20 from thechain or belt 56 and a generally horizontal crotch 94 having firstangled or flat side 96 and second angled or flat side 98. Dead animals32 can be placed in the crotch 94 by the legs or hocks or by the neck.As worker 60 uses the receiving means of carriers 20 to place the legsor hocks or neck of dead animal 32, the receiving means should have anopening (the space between first side 96 and second side 98 at thecrotch 94) smaller than the diameter of the legs or hocks or neck of atypical dead animal 32. Such dimensions help prevent dead animal 32 fromfalling out of carrier 20 before arriving at disposal site 26.

[0037]FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention in whichcarriers 20 are buckets and chain or belt 56 is an automotive fan belttype of belt. In this alternative embodiment, carriers 20 can beordinary buckets with receiving means capable of holding dead animal 32.Such buckets can be adapted to carry one or more dead animals 32. One ofordinary skill in the art can place dead animal 32 in carriers 20 shapedas buckets relatively easily. The belt 56 shown in FIG. 4 is of thematerials and structure of a common automotive fan belt. Down rod 92attaches between the bucket carrier 20 and the belt 56. The attachmentbetween down rod 92 and belt 56 can be a connector 22 such as shown inFIG. 3, a receiving hole 76 through which down rod 92 extends and ispinned above, or the like. Such methods of attachment are determinableby those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0038]FIG. 5 shows a sectional end view of the conveyor 10 raceway 12 inmore detail. Raceway upper half 12A as illustrated has a generallysquare cross section to provide structural rigidity for the raceway 12over the distances the conveyor is suspended or supported.Alternatively, raceway upper half 12A can be triangular in crosssection, can be a single solid vertical beam, can be an I-beamstructure, or can be any other structure providing the required strengthand structural rigidity necessary to support raceway 12. In the exampleshown in FIG. 5, suspension cable 62 extends through a hole in the upperportion of raceway upper half 12A and is held in place using a washer 64and nut 66.

[0039] Raceway lower half 12B is a generally hollow linear structurethrough which chain or belt 56 can travel as shown in FIG. 5. Chain orbelt 56 is supported within raceway lower half 12B by wear strips 74 orsimilar devices that can provide the necessary retaining support forchain or belt 56 within raceway lower half 12B yet still allow chain orbelt 56 to travel freely through raceway 12. Wear strips 74 aredimensioned to fit within and be supported by recesses 72 within racewaylower half 12B. Further, wear strips 74 also are dimensioned to fitwithin chain recesses 78, is a chain is used as the chain or belt 56, orto fit under belt, if a belt is used as the chain or belt 56. Thus,chain 56 can slide along wear strips 74 or belt 56 can slide on andabove wear strips 74 as chain or belt 56 travels through raceway 12.

[0040] Wear strips 74 can be any suitable type of bearing or bearingtype of support that will both support chain or belt 56 and allow chainor belt to travel through raceway 12. For example, wear strips 74 can bestrips of Nylon®, ultra high molecular weight polymers, or otherrelatively rigid low friction materials or wear strips 74 can be rollerbearings. Further, wear strips 74 can be a lubricated system, such aslubricating oil sitting directly on the bottom wall of raceway lowerhalf 12B; however, it is preferable not to use oils in an animal raisingfacility 7. As such, the term wear strip 74 is defined to include allelements, devices, manufactures and machines that can both support chainor belt 56 and at the same time allow chain or belt 56 to travel throughraceway 12.

[0041]FIG. 6 shows a first illustrative embodiment for emptying carriers20 over disposal site 26. In this first embodiment, disposal site 26 isa dumpster 26 having a front or upstream wall 26A lower than a rear ordownstream wall 26B and carrier 20 is a crotch carrier 20A. Carriers 20travel in the direction shown by the arrows. As crotch carrier 20Aapproaches and enters dumpster 26, crotch carrier 20A and dead animal 32passes over upstream wall 26A. As crotch carrier 20A continues throughdumpster 26, crotch carrier 20A passes over downstream wall 26B, butdead animal 32 does not. As dead animal 32 contacts downstream wall 26B,dead animal is knocked or pushed off of crotch carrier 20A and fallsinto dumpster 26. Crotch carrier 20A then continues around raceway 12for further use.

[0042]FIG. 7 shows a second illustrative embodiment for emptyingcarriers 20 over disposal site 26. In this second embodiment, disposalsite 26 also is a dumpster 26 having a front or upstream wall 26A and arear or downstream wall 26B and carrier 20 is a crotch carrier 20A.Carriers 20 travel in the direction shown by the arrows. As crotchcarrier 20A approaches and enters dumpster 26, crotch carrier 20A anddead animal 32 contact pivot panel 102, causing dead animal 32 andcrotch carrier 20A to pivot backwards in a plane parallel to thedirection of travel of carrier 20. Crotch carrier 20B continues to pulldead animal over pivot wall 102 and at the end of pivot wall 102, deadanimal 32 falls off of crotch carrier 20A into dumpster 26. Crotchcarrier 20A then continues around raceway 12 for further use.

[0043]FIG. 8 shows a third illustrative embodiment of emptying carriers20 over disposal site 26. In this third embodiment, disposal site 26also is a dumpster having a front or upstream wall 26A and a rear ordownstream wall 26B and carrier 20 is a bucket carrier 20B. Carriers 20travel in the direction shown by the arrows. As bucket carrier 20approaches and enters dumpster 26, bucket carrier 20B and dead animal 32contact pivot panel 104, causing dead animal 32 and bucket carrier 20Bto pivot backwards in a plane parallel to the direction of travel ofcarrier 20, thus turning the open end of bucket carrier 20B forwards anddownwards towards the interior of dumpster 26. Dead animal 32 falls outof bucket carrier 20B into dumpster 26. Bucket carrier 20B thencontinues around raceway 12 for further use.

[0044] Preferably, carriers 20 are emptied over disposal site 26 and arevertical when not being emptied. As shown, carriers 20 are rotatedbetween about 60 and 100 degrees to be emptied such that carriers 20empty their contents. As each of carriers 20 progresses over disposalsite 26, each of carriers 20 release their contents into disposal site26. The continuous flow of conveyor 10 helps ensure that carriers 20release their contents into disposal site 26 and that carriers 20 areavailable for worker 15 soon after.

[0045]FIG. 9 is perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention 5 utilizing a removal conveyor 110 as the disposalsite 26. In this embodiment, as carriers 20 approach disposal site 26,dead animals 32 are released from carriers 20 in any of the waysdisclosed previously, as appropriate, and fall onto removal conveyor110. Removal conveyor 110 is a known device comprising an endlesshorizontal belt 112 or the equivalent and transports dead animals 32 toa desired location. The desired location may be a distally locateddumpster located inside of or outside of animal raising facility 7, atruck located outside of animal raising facility 7, or the like.

[0046] FIG.10 is a top view of a dual conveyor 10 embodiment of thepresent invention 5. In this embodiment, two or more conveyors 10 arelocated within the animal raising facility 7, either having separatedisposal sites 26C or sharing a disposal site 26D.

[0047] In operation and use, system 10 and method serve to efficientlytransport dead animals 32 within an animal raising facility 7 todisposal bin 26. As worker 60 finds dead animal 32, worker 60 placesdead animal 32 into on of circulating carriers 20, which travels alongconveyor 10 until carrier 20 reaches deposal site 26. Once carrier 20 isat disposal site 26, carrier 21 is tipped or otherwise acted on and deadanimal 32 is dumped into disposal site 26. After the dumping of deadanimal 32 into disposal site 26, carrier 20 circulates along theconveyor 10 until the power to conveyor 10 is turned off. As the worker60 does not need to transport dead animal 32 from the point of findingall the way to disposal site 26, time and energy is saved.

[0048] The system and method of the present invention can be employed ina conventional animal raising facility 7 with defined dimensionscomprising a roof 24 supported by walls 80, 84 rising from the ground onfloor 19. Such a system 10 and method can be employed within animalraising facility 7 of the type conventionally employed for growingcommercially raised animals 30, which are disposed about floor 19 ofanimal raising facility 7. The system 10 and method as contemplated bythe present invention may be installed within similar animal raisingfacilities 7 for use with a variety of animals.

[0049] Preferably, carriers 20 are at a height from floor 19 of animalraising facility 7 that allows live animal 30 to walk under carriers 20without impedance. Further, carriers 20 should be a height so to allowworker 60 to place dead animals 32 into carrier 20 without unnecessaryextra movements or strain. Preferably, most of the structure of conveyor10 is distributed over the batch of animals as this maximizes theexposure of carriers 20 to worker 60.

[0050] Disposal site 26 can include an array of sites, bins, removalconveyors or other disposal means. For example, disposal site 26 can bean actual bin or dumpster for holding dead animals. Alternatively,disposal site 26 can be a truck or another conveyor that will transportdead animals 32 to a remote location. Preferably, disposal site 26 canbe a site for dumping dead animals 32, which is away from the batch oflive animals 30. As such, the term site is defined and used as alocation, a structure, a device or a machine for receiving dead animals32.

[0051] One of ordinary skill in the art can develop without undueexperimentation an acceptable conveyor 10 suitable with system 5. Thecomplexity of conveyer 10 can range from a simple conveyor with aminimum number of moving parts to complex conveyor with numerous movingparts and features. One example of an adaptable conveyor system is shownin U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,933 to Gough. Other types of conveyors areobvious to those with ordinary skill in the art and can be employedwithout undue experimentation.

[0052] The driving means for conveyor 10 can be in the formed of apowered motor and gearbox, which are operatively connected to the chainor belt 56, such that the conveyor 10 may be advanced in a controlledfashion. Motor preferably can be at advanced by at least one speed. Insuch an embodiment, the conveyor 10 may be selectively advanced at arelatively rapid rate of speed or at a slower speed forwardly tofacilitate the transport of dead animals 32 to disposal site 26.Preferably, the rate of speed is not excessively fast so to make itdifficult for worker 60 to place dead animals 32 in carriers 20 orexcessively slow to reduce the efficiency of the system 10 and method.

[0053] The dimensions of conveyor 10 can depend on size of animalraising facility 7 in which system 5 is being employed. For example, ina large animal raising facility 7, it may be appropriate to have alarger conveyor 10. In a smaller animal raising facility 7, it may beappropriate to have a smaller conveyor 10. As part of conveyor 10 can bedesigned to be outside animal raising facility 7, preferably when thedisposal site 26 is located outside the animal raising facility 7,conveyor 10 in some embodiments may be larger (longer) than animalraising facility 7. One of ordinary skill in the art can selected thedimensions of conveyor 10 for a specific animal raising facility 7without undue experimentation.

[0054] The numbers of carriers 20 shown and described herein are forillustrative purposes. The actual number of carriers 20 used with thepresent invention can be substantially varied and will depend onnumerous factors including the size of the animal raising facility 7,the dimensions of conveyor 10 and the desired spacing between carriers20. One of ordinary skill in the art can select the number of carriers20 to be used with system 5 without undue experimentation.

[0055] The material of construction of the components of system 10 canbe numerous including carbon steel, abrasive resistant steel, stainlesssteel, other metals (such as aluminum), plastics and other polymers,ceramics, fiber reinforced plastics and ceramics, or any other materialappropriate for the specific component. For example, bucket carriers 20can be constructed from plastic (e.g. injection molded plastics) or hardrubber and crotch carriers 20 can be constructed from stainless steelrods, flat metals, or plastics. Lightweight materials can be used forcarriers 20 to reduce to the weight to be moved by motor. One ofordinary skill in the art can select a material without undueexperimentation.

[0056] The above detailed description of the preferred embodiments,examples, and the appended figures are for illustrative purposes onlyand are not intended to limit the scope and spirit of the invention, andits equivalents, as defined by the appended claims. One skilled in theart will recognize that many variations can be made to the inventiondisclosed in this specification without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for transporting dead animals locatedwithin an animal raising facility comprising the steps of: a. placing adead animal in a carrier that is part of a conveyor; b. transporting thecarrier with the dead animal towards a disposal site by the conveyor;and c. emptying the at least one carrier at the disposal site.
 2. Themethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor is an endless loopconveyor the majority of which is located within the animal raisingfacility.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 2,wherein the conveyorcomprises a plurality of carriers.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 3,wherein the conveyor further comprises a raceway comprising a chain orbelt from which the carriers are suspended.
 5. The method as claimed inclaim 4, further comprising the step of operating the conveyorcontinuously upon activation.
 6. The method as claimed in claim 5,wherein the conveyor is suspended from the ceiling of the animal raisingfacility.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising thestep of emptying the carrier of the dead animal at the disposal site. 8.The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the disposal site is adisposal bin.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the deadanimal is poultry.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein thecarriers are selected from the group consisting of buckets and hangers.11. A system for removing dead animals from an animal raising facility,comprising: a. a closed loop conveyor at least partially within theanimal raising facility; and b. at least one dead animal carrierattached at defined positions along the conveyor, wherein the system isused for transporting at least one dead animals within the animalraising facility to a disposal site and the at least one dead animal isplaced into one of the at least one carriers.
 12. The system as claimedin claim 11, wherein the dead animals are commercially raised poultry.13. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the dead animal in thecarrier is dumped over the disposal site.
 14. The system as claimed inclaim 13 wherein the disposal site is a disposal bin.
 15. The system asclaimed in claim 13, wherein the carriers are circulated around theclosed loop.
 16. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at leastone carrier is tipped over the disposal bin, whereby tipping the atleast one carrier empties the contents of the at least one carrier intothe disposal site.
 17. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein thecarriers are selected from the group consisting of buckets and hangers.18. A system for removing dead animals from an animal raising facility,comprising: a. a continuous closed loop conveyor; b. a plurality ofspaced apart carriers secured to the conveyor; and c. a means forcirculating the carriers, wherein the system is used for transportingdead animals from within the animal raising facility to a disposal site,the carriers are circulated around the conveyor, the dead animal can beplaced into one of the at least one carriers, and the carriers aresequentially emptied of dead animals over the disposal site.
 19. Thesystem as claimed in claim 18, wherein the conveyor has a shapecorresponding to the shape of the structure.
 20. The system as Claimedin claim 19, wherein the disposal site is a disposal bin.
 21. The systemas claimed in claim 20, wherein the carriers are selected from the groupconsisting of buckets and hangers.
 22. A conveyor for removing deadanimals from an animal raising facility, comprising: a. a frame having ahorizontal operating platform with a channel; b. a continuous conveyorchain or belt located in the channel; and c. a plurality of spacedcarriers depending from and secured to the conveyor chain or belt,wherein the conveyor is used to transport dead animals from within theanimal raising facility to a disposal site and the carriers are able tohold at least one dead animal.
 23. The conveyor as claimed in claim 22,wherein the carriers are selected from the group consisting of bucketsand hangers.
 24. A dead animal removal system comprising in combination:a. an animal raising facility in which at least dead animals arelocated; and b. a dead animal conveyance system comprising a conveyorthat forms a closed loop at least partially within the animal raisingfacility and at least one carrier attached at defined positions alongthe conveyor; wherein the system is used for transporting dead animalswithin the animal raising facility to a disposal site and dead animalsare placed into one of the at least one carriers for transport to thedisposal site.
 25. The dead animal removal system as claimed in claim24, wherein the conveyance system comprises: a. a frame having ahorizontal operating platform with a channel; b. a continuous conveyorchain or belt located in the channel; and c. a plurality of spacedcarriers depending from and secured to the conveyor chain or belt. 26.The dead animal conveyance system as claimed in claim 25, wherein theconveyor has a shape corresponding to the shape of the structure. 27.The system as Claimed in claim 25, wherein the disposal site is adisposal bin.
 28. The system as claimed in claim 25, wherein thecarriers are selected from the group consisting of buckets and hangers.29. The system as claimed in claim 25, wherein the conveyor furthercomprises a raceway comprising a chain or belt from which the carriersare suspended.
 30. The system as claimed in claim 25, wherein theconveyor is suspended from the ceiling of the animal raising facility.